It is believed that the local Aboriginal Ngarigo people used a word that sounded like queanbeyan to describe the river, said to mean "clearwater".

Fourteen tributaries upstream of the Googong Dam contribute to the river flow including the Burra, Urialla, Tinderry, Ballinafad, Groggy, Woolpack, Sherlock, Lyons, Towneys and Mile Creeks.

[citation needed] The Queanbeyan region is the traditional home of the Ngunnawal and the Ngarigo peoples.

Wool scouring was carried out in the river near present-day Oaks Estate, formerly a part of Queanbeyan.

[7] A timeline compiled by a member of the Queanbeyan and District Historical Museum Society gives similar dates, extending to 2012.

The Queanbeyan Cemetery was flooded, with scores of bodies washed downstream into Lake Burley Griffin.

On more than one occasion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries floods deposited live Murray cod in the main streets of Queanbeyan.

[citation needed] A variety of ills including introduction of exotic fish such as trout, overfishing, willow encroachment, siltation, and weirs blocking migration saw native fish populations in the Queanbeyan River close to extinction by the time Googong Dam was built.

The Queanbeyan Council has put in place a resource development scheme to clean out the river, including a "catch a carp" competition where the winners won $500 or fishing gear.

The area surrounding the Queanbeyan River supports a large population of eastern grey kangaroos.